


The Song of Chrysalis

by BubblegumLeather



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Butterfly Luka Couffaine, Butterfly Miraculous, Kwami Swap, Multi, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Peacock Gabriel Agreste, Peacock Miraculous, i'm making that a thing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:53:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25191214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BubblegumLeather/pseuds/BubblegumLeather
Summary: In a different timeline, Hawkmoth's miraculous was taken during the battle of Heroes Day. Unfortunately, he managed to escape with his identity unknown and the butterfly brooch had been lost during the chaos. Paris remains on edge as everyone waits for Hawkmoth's next move while both sides are on a hunt for the butterfly miraculous. While Luka Couffaine just wants to make the melody of Paris less discordant, he's unsure of himself when he stumbles upon the butterfly brooch and meets the kwami Nooroo. However, when Hawkmoth begins to change tactics and use the peacock miraculous to terrorize Paris, Luka must step up to the plate as the new butterfly hero, Chrysalis.Now if only he can convince Paris, including its heroes, that he's not the new Hawkmoth and find people to become his melodies (he refuses to say the word akuma if he can help it) to combat the Pavo and his sentimonsters.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Kagami Tsurugi, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Kagami Tsurugi, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Endgame is Lukadrigaminette, Luka Couffaine & Nooroo, Luka Couffaine/Kagami Tsurugi, Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Kagami Tsurugi, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Comments: 21
Kudos: 121





	1. Find of a Lifetime

**Author's Note:**

> Behold, the AU which is a result of Miraculous Ladybug becoming my hyperfixation again, me coming to really love Luka as a character, and just wanting Nooroo to have a holder who will treat him well! I also struggled with writing Luka as a character so hopefully he ain't out of character here.

Many saw Heroes Day as a victory for Ladybug and Chat Noir. But that certainly didn’t stop the whole event from leaving a lot of Paris on edge. While Hawkmoth had been reported to have had his miraculous removed during the battle, he had managed to escape without any of the heroes discovering his identity and the butterfly miraculous had been lost in the chaos. So while the threat of Hawkmoth’s akumas was gone, for the time being, the man himself and his new ally Mayura were still at large. And the butterfly miraculous remained lost with likely both heroes and villains in desperate search for it before the other party did. The been increased sightings of the main duo and the new permanent heroes Rena Rouge, Carapace, and Queen Bee in the dead hours of the night showed that the butterfly miraculous being missing wasn’t due to a lack of effort on their heroes part.

Luka Couffaine could feel that the very air of the city was tense like a guitar string pulled too tight as if everyone was in anticipation for the other shoe to drop. Despite this, the people of Paris did their best to continue living their normal lives but all around him, Luka could see everyone’s songs and melodies were off and created nothing but a discordant orchestra which he couldn’t seem to escape no matter where he went.

It was especially bad as he biked down the street back to the Liberty, the sun lazily going down behind the horizon. He had just finished his last delivery for one of his numerous part-time jobs and had promised Juleka he would head straight home.

_ “finally finished work, heading back home now.” _

_ “luka please tell me youre not texting me while on your bike. Because i swear to god if you are” _

Luka absolutely was texting her while on his bike but he knew it’d be foolish to tell her that.

_ “uhhhh gotta go jul, be home 15. love you! <3” _

_ “goddamn it luka, i will kill you if you have a near accident again” _

Juleka had been more insistent that he avoid staying out after dark after Heroes Day, or about as insistent as she could be. As if afraid that an akuma would come out of a dark alley and snatch her brother away, not that she said it out loud. 

He wished he could do something, but it wasn’t like he had magic jewelry to become a superhero like Ladybug and Chat Noir. He was just Luka Couffaine, a delivery boy and aspiring musician who had an uncanny ability to hear the songs in people. 

Which was why he found himself unexpectedly stopping his bike as the glint of something in the corner of his eye seemed to activate the part of his brain that Juleka always joked was meant for a magpie. Not bothered by the stares which he could feel on him, Luka backtracked as his eyes excitedly scanned the ground for the source. A flash of purple caught his eye and he carefully brushed aside some trash, a small smile came to his lips once he saw what it was.

A small oval-shaped brooch with silver side and back and the sight of small hinges likely meant it was a locket. But what caught Luka’s interest the most was the smooth dark purple gemstone which was front and center, it was definitely a nice little beauty.

“Could be amethyst but it looks too smooth. Chalcedony, maybe? Wonder how a find like this ended up with some trash,” Luka mumbled to himself, already distracted with finding the story behind this brooch as his thumb rubbed at the gem. The sound of his phone snapped him out of it and he already knew it was Juleka demanding to know where he was.

_ ‘Better book it back before she has my head. Wait… wasn’t it my turn to do the dishes tonight?’ _

Oh, she was definitely going to have his head if he didn’t get back to the Liberty.

Panicked peddling pushed his thoughts about the brooch in the back of his mind so Luka didn’t notice as the gem gave a soft glow of lavender inside the pocket of his jacket.

* * *

Thankfully for Luka, Juleka didn’t have his head for being home late but he was definitely up late cleaning all the dishes. Just his luck that their mom decided to go all out for a big dinner that same night when he already has a considerable pile of dishware to scrub. But he couldn’t really complain too much, it was always special when Anarka made what they affectionately called “Chaos Stew”. Because that’s what it was, a random mish-mash of various foodstuffs boiled in a pot that an outsider would gag at yet change their mind at the first taste. Something that shouldn’t work with all the different flavors but it did and that’s what made it special.

The fact that she only made it when either Luka or Juleka were feeling down was left unsaid.

By the time Luka was finished, the sun was long gone and he could see the faintest bit of stars in the dark sky through the kitchen window. As he dried his reddened hands on a dishtowel, he let his mind go quiet to open up his ears to the sounds of Paris at night.

The city was as restless as always, perhaps even more with the uncertainty ahead of it. The danger had passed but for how long? What else would be thrown at them due to a madman’s quest for some apparently magical jewelry? And who else would be hurt?

Questions like that always caused Luka’s jaw to clench all the tighter like a wound-up spring ready to snap at any moment.

He decided to head to bed for the night before the thoughts became too much with his hands sliding into the pockets of his worn jacket. His hand brushed against the formerly forgotten brooch and a smile returned to his face, pulling out his lucky find to look at under the lights of his bedroom. It certainly had a simple look to it but that certainly wasn’t a bad thing. In fact, the simplest of things can bring joy to a lot of people, like welcoming the sun after a rainy day or getting to eat your favorite food.

Fingers carefully danced around the edges of the brooch, curiosity as to whether it already had some kind of memento inside. A piece which had a story inside which could be all Luka’s to unravel and piece together. Perhaps it could even be something he could make into a whole new song, a story without words yet one that could ring in people’s hearts.

Feeling the gem nudge, Luka did his best to gently pry the brooch locket open.

Almost…

His small moment of triumph was interrupted when a small ball of light came from the brooch, causing Luka to drop the brooch in an attempt to shield his eyes. That didn’t stop him from watching the ball of light circle him, more curious than frightened, and stared as the ball formed into… a fairy?

Well, he certainly looked like a fairy. He was a small creature, light purple in color with wings like that of a butterfly on his back. And Luka wouldn’t hesitate to call him adorable either with his large head and eyes combined with the tiny body and limbs. The tiny being wobbled as if weak from the very act of forming and Luka carefully cupped the fairy into his hands, not wanting to see the poor thing fall. He couldn’t help but notice how just small the fairy was, not helping that he seemed to be curled up and quivering in his hands.

“Easy there little guy, nothing’s going to harm you. Are you okay?” Luka whispered, both to not startle the being or wake up his family. God knows he wouldn’t know how to explain this to either of them. Plus he was afraid that whatever calm he had would be thrown immediately out the window the moment someone else disturbed this delicate bubble of calm his bedroom became.

His voice seemed to snap the fairy out of what almost seemed to be an anxiety attack. He slowly uncurled from the ball he had formed and dark purple eyes opened to meet Luka’s light blue. The two continued to stare in silence before the fairy finally broke the silence with uncertainty in his eyes.

“I am... fine, Master.” His tone made Luka’s skin crawl, one of resigned obedience that had already accepted his fate. An unpleasant one at that.

Master?

“Hey now, there’s no need to call me that. My name’s Luka. And what’s your name?”

The sheer look of surprise on the fairy’s face from his words only made Luka more concerned. As if he wasn’t expecting to be treated with basic decency. Yet he kept the calm smile on his face, not wanting to scare the little guy and hoping it will help him feel more at ease. The song he got from the fairy’s heart was one that sounded like one lone instrument that played as if calling out to others yet was also afraid to be too loud and alerting someone it didn’t want to. Afraid, isolated, and lonely.

However, as he looked at Luka longer, the song slowly began to grow louder and perhaps, had the slightest tint of hope.

“My name is Nooroo, the kwami of the butterfly miraculous with the power over transmission. You might recognize it as what had given my previous… holder, Hawkmoth his powers. It is a pleasure to meet you… Luka.”

Hearing that, Luka knew that any chances of him sleeping tonight were down at the bottom of the Seine. Good thing it was a Friday night.


	2. Getting to Know Each Other

He knew that they were likely in for a long conversation, so he had offered the kwami something to eat as it was only polite. It was a surprise how eager Nooroo was, even if it was only some kind of juice, but it was definitely another note of concern for him. He still had no idea what a kwami was or if they even needed to eat, but this was Hawkmoth they were talking about. Luka wouldn’t doubt it if the bastard neglected Nooroo’s needs, too focused on his own twisted crusade.

The idea of having to suffer under Hawkmoth’s thumb for any period of time without even proper care had Luka giving Nooroo the largest cup they had on the Liberty and filling it to the brim. With some consideration, he added a straw too. The mug was a loved remnant from Anarka’s band days where she would drink everyone under the table and then make hangover cures as consolation the morning after. The mug was practically thrice Nooroo’s size and painted a bright red with a black skull-and-crossbones, still looking good as new despite its age.

Now that Luka thought about it, he hadn’t seen Anarka use it since… Captain Hardrock.

He could feel his heart squeeze tighter and tighter at that, not helping was Nooroo’s disbelief that all of the juice was for him. It took a bit of reassurance and insistence from Luka, but eventually, the kwami began to sip at the juice with more dignity than Luka thought was fair for such a tiny being. But who needed dignity when you had an energy drink to keep you up until the sun came back to remind you of your mistakes?

“I guess had always thought that… I don’t know the miraculous that gave Hawkmoth his powers was just meant to be evil and create supervillains.” Nooroo simply shook his head at Luka’s words, which he took as the kwami slowly becoming more comfortable with his presence. 

“That would be like saying Chat Noir’s miraculous is meant to be used for evil because of his powers of destruction. One could even argue that Rena Rouge would be similar, with her powers of illusions and trickery. Yet they are heroes because it is about the holder’s intentions and morals rather than the powers the miraculous and kwami gives them.”

They both shuddered at the thought of someone like Hawkmoth having Chat Noir’s powers.

“So it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to say that Hawkmoth didn’t have great intentions then? He’s never exactly explained why he wants Ladybug and Chat Noir’s miraculous so badly. Probably for nothing good,” Luka mumbled, taking a pause as Nooroo’s song seemed to go almost completely quiet except for one long droning chord. “Nooroo, do you know why he wants them? Can you tell me?”

“I am sorry… I do know but I can’t tell you. Hawkmoth knows the rules with kwami to the point where even though I am no longer bonded to him, I am physically incapable of telling you who he is nor his motivations. He had many fail-safes done if the butterfly miraculous were ever to be separated from him.” As much as Luka wanted to push, he took the kwami’s word for it and simply gave him a nod in understanding. 

“Figures he’d know how to cover his tracks. And yet he still decides it’s smart to do things like akumatize a baby,” he grumbled, never forgetting the photos Juleka sent him of a giant baby rampaging through Paris. That was definitely one of the more memorable days. Nooroo gave a short chortle, certainly never forgetting how angry Gabriel was after that disaster of an akumatization. He had a good laugh which lasted 5 minutes once Nooroo knew Gabriel wasn’t listening. He embraced it, since being able to find humor in his situation was as rare as a blue moon.

“Not one of his best decisions, I can most certainly agree.” Nooroo’s melody slowly began to return with a playful lilt that sounded almost like a xylophone combined with laughter.

“Can you really be capable of good decisions when you use magic butterflies to turn people into villains for some earrings and a ring?” This time Nooroo nearly choked on his juice as he failed to stifle another laugh, song hitting a crescendo that was loud yet didn’t have the restraints to care. It was still a gentle and airy tune but by no means the lonely solo he first heard when his eyes met the kwami’s.

“No, I suppose not. I had warned him that none of the miraculous were meant to be used for evil purposes. The butterfly miraculous specifically is meant to reach out to people’s emotions and empower them to become champions, forces of good. And yet he… used my power to twist people into the worst version of themselves.” And just like that, Nooroo became quiet again. The aria became sour from the weight of the kwami’s guilt and Luka couldn’t stop his hands from tightening into fists.

“Hey, that’s Hawkmoth’s fault, not yours. You didn’t want your powers to be used like this and you had warned him. And now, you don’t have to worry about him anymore, period. Because I’m not gonna let Hawkmoth get within fifty feet of you if I can help it. I don’t know if that makes me your new holder but you deserve to be treated better. You deserve a whole lot better than Hawkmoth,” Luka declared with a quiet rage behind his words which promised he would beat the man to death with his guitar if it meant protecting Nooroo.

It wasn’t hard to see a bit of Juleka in Nooroo after all: purple, quiet voice, and more on the timid side. Both their songs were ones that were soft and gentle to the ordinary ear yet could easily hide a layer of steel that would yield to no one when the opportunity arose. It was obvious that Nooroo’s steel had been weakened and warped but no broken, nowhere close in fact. Luka knew that with the right reinforcement, it would be stronger than ever before.

Nooroo was completely frozen at Luka’s words, tiny mouth agape in shock. Before he knew it, there was a lavender blur and suddenly he had a kwami hugging his collarbone. His hands carefully cupped Nooroo as he shuddered and tiny sobs escaped his body. Luka began to hum a familiar melody to soothe Nooroo, a song with no words but still told a story, one that transformed from despair to hope and finally deserved joy. The kwami’s sobs quieted yet he continued to cling to the young man and they simply remained in silence that was occasionally broken by another hummed song.

Yet while Luka kept Nooroo company throughout the night, outwardly calm, there was only one major thought going through his head before his brain succumbed to sleep.

_ ‘Hawkmoth I swear to all that is good and pure in this world, I will make you regret the day you were born the next time you decide to show your face. And it will be with my bare hands because my guitar deserves better. I will make sure you never get Nooroo again if it’s the last thing I do.’ _

* * *

“Are you sure that was the butterfly miraculous you sensed Wayzz?” Fu was at first elated when the kwami had reported that he sensed that Nooroo had been awakened once more. But the apprehension that seemed to weigh Wayzz down dampened the Guardian’s brief feeling of victory.

“Indeed Master and while it certainly isn’t a dark aura, it doesn’t seem like Ladybug was the one to do so. It appears that an outside party has found and awakened Nooroo.”

Fu cursed under his breath, already thinking how to break this to Ladybug and the others. He already knew how much guilt they all felt for not being able to keep track of the butterfly miraculous during the battle on Heroes Day. The visible weight Ladybug held on her shoulders was heavier than ever they all came back to him after the fight, voice strained and on the verge of breaking. 

The other heroes were in no better shape. 

Chat Noir had done his best to try and lighten the moods of the others but you didn’t need to look closely to notice how exhausted he looked. All his usual energy was gone, movements sluggish, and his tail was practically dragging behind him. Rena Rouge and Carapace were leaning on each other for support, physically and emotionally, and fighting to keep their eyes open the whole time. Queen Bee has been the most closed-off, her hand holding a death grip on her miraculous as if afraid that Fu would take it away without a second thought.

It was moments that reminded Fu that these were teenagers, practically children in his eyes.

But he knew they were all also too far in deep to take their miraculous back.

So Fu did the best he could, offering them encouragement and reassurances that they all did amazing in stopping Hawkmoth’s assault and while the butterfly miraculous was lost, for now, it was better than it still being in Hawkmoth’s possession. Reminding them that Paris was still standing thanks to them. And the kicker, which still made Fu smile as he thought back on it, the news he had for the once temporary heroes.

“Congratulations, you three have shown yourself worthy of your miraculous and they shall remain in your possession, much like Ladybug and Chat Noir. I trust you will all guard them and your secret identities from Hawkmoth and Mayura. And remember, while this may be a setback, we will defeat Hawkmoth and return the butterfly and peacock back to their proper place.”

Rena Rouge and Carapace were much more awake after that. Rena Rouge had cheered without a care in the world while Carapace gave a relieved smile, simply happy to know that they hadn’t majorly messed up. Queen Bee quietly looked at him with disbelief, the unspoken question regarding her identity heavy in the air.

“You shall remain as Queen Bee for now Chloé. I have a backup plan in case Hawkmoth tries to take advantage of your identity being public but we shall continue on forward. I imagine having one member on your team with a public identity can work in our favor anyway, especially one with your influence.”

“Well, of course, it will! And… thank you, Master Fu. I’ll try not to let you down.” Queen Bee’s smile was small yet it managed to light up her whole face at how relieved she was to know she hadn’t failed.

“Yeah, dude, we’ll make sure to show you made the right choice picking us!” Carapace joined in with Rena Rouge not too far behind.

“We’ll find the butterfly before Hawkmoth and then get the peacock, even if we have to beat out of him!”

Ladybug and Chat Noir remained silent but the previously stifling heaviness on them was slowly lifting, breaths coming easier and tired smiles on their lips. While things weren’t perfect, he could only hope that having more heroes will allow those two to simply live without feeling like it was up to only them to keep the world on their shoulders.

“What should we do now Master? The butterfly miraculous is active once more but can we risk Nooroo’s powers being misused again? ” Wayzz voice snapped Fu back to the present, the kwami floating patiently yet eve his tiny body held a bit of tension at the thought of his sibling being mistreated again.

“Unfortunately, the best we can do for the time being is warn the team of it being active once, as well as wait and see what this new butterfly holder plans to do with the miraculous. And pray to the Guardians that we do not have another Hawkmoth on our hands,” Fu stated but was by no means happy about it. Wayzz looked as if he wanted to argue but decided against it, simply giving the Guardian a nod before flying off to return to Nino.

Left alone, it hit Fu that he has never felt more tired in his century-long existence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everybody's tired! Except for Nooroo, he's just happy to be treated like he deserves. And I 100% support him.


	3. Shine Like A Diamond

To say that Gabriel Agreste had been having a rough week would be the understatement of the century.

He had been  _ so close _ . Months of planning, experimenting with his akumas, and an untold amount of emotional toll on both him and Nathalie. It was supposed to be perfect, an absolutely flawless plan that would allow him to finally have Ladybug and Chat Noir’s miraculous.

Ruined. He had been bested by five children in bright spandex. And worse, they were inches from discovering his identity and if it hadn’t been for Mayura’s quick sentimonster, he would have been revealed to the world as Gabriel Agreste. Carted off in handcuffs, labeled nothing but a criminal terrorist, and leaving Adrien with no family left except his aunt and cousin. And Gabriel would sooner croak than leave his son in the care of those two.

He had never felt so exposed without the butterfly miraculous at his collar, hidden underneath his tie.

“What should we do now, sir? We’re only left with peacock miraculous now,” Nathalie questioned with her hands a welcome weight on his shoulders. Despite his insistence, she held herself like normal despite the strain they both knew had left her weakened from the broken miraculous. It went unsaid between them that she was supporting herself on Gabriel as much as he was with her.

“There have been no reports of Ladybug having found the butterfly miraculous yet. Until then, we keep searching and hope we can find it before she does. And… we’ll likely have to use the peacock until then.” It hurt more than it should have to say that. It was a risk, almost too much, but it was the only thing they had at their disposal for now unless another miraculous somehow wound up on their doorstep.

“I’ll be more than happy to continue being Mayura-” He interrupted her with a squeeze to her hand.

“No, you will not be the sole holder of the miraculous Nathalie. It would put too much strain on your body. I will also bear this burden, as it was my failure that left us with our… predicament.” Nathalie wanted so badly to argue that, images of Gabriel’s body in a glass coffin flashing through her mind. She bit her tongue though, knowing when she’s found herself in an argument that she couldn’t win.

“So… you’re suggesting we  _ take turns _ using the peacock miraculous, sir?” Gabriel didn’t need to look at her to know her brow was raised in skepticism. Even he cringed the slightest bit when she worded it that way especially since it hit the nail on head.

“A juvenile way of putting it… but a correct one nonetheless. Yes, we alternate usage of the peacock miraculous and give the other time to physically recuperate from using it. It’ll make us harder to pin down in terms of identities as well.”

“But sir, that’ll be putting your health at risk just as much as me.” Nathalie winced at how her professional tone betrayed how much it scared her, Gabriel putting himself through the strain of that damned pin. Gabriel heaved out a sigh, suddenly feeling his age at full force.

“We’re too far in now to give up now and if I’m left bedridden if it means we can get Emilie back then so be it. I can trust you to take care of Adrien and… make sure he doesn’t see me if it comes to that. I don’t want him to worry about me.” She couldn’t help but chuckle at his words.

“You know fully well that he will worry about you regardless of your wishes. He has a soft heart, that boy. He’d find some way to blame himself if he saw you in such a state. But I will do my best… Gabriel.” Saying his first name was like dipping your feet into a pool, testing the waters to see if it was safe before jumping right in. No matter how tempting it was to Nathalie, to just dive headfirst and not worry about the consequences.

Gabriel remained silent for a moment before turning to Nathalie, a tug at the corner of his lips soothing her anxious second thoughts.

“That he does. He gets it all from his mother.”

They remained silent before Gabriel slowly took the peacock brooch off Nathalie’s collar as if giving her the chance the protest. She remained still, however, shoving any thoughts or feelings into the back closet of her mind.

It didn’t feel or look right to see the brooch on Gabriel, for either of them. But they had to work with what was left at their disposal.

“We strike as soon as possible. Hit them while they’re still recovering and see if we can weaken them enough to grab the miraculous.”

“Whatever you say, sir. Just… please be careful.”

Gabriel remained silent as he walked away from Nathalie.

“Duusu, spread my feathers!”

* * *

It should have surprised Tom and Sabine more to see five exhausted superheroes drag themselves into their bakery. But they had endured enough akuma attacks to simply accept that this would be a part of their lives, superheroes in colorful costumes with fantastical powers protecting them from a variety of threats. So instead of gaping in shock, they did what they always did with any customer who walked into their establishment.

Sabine gave her most encouraging smile while Tom got to work preparing the best damn pastries on this side of Paris. The kids looked like they could use them.

“Chat please, you can’t order half of their stock! You can’t even eat that many pastries!”

“Are you doubting my power, my lady?”

“No, I think she’s more worried about your eating yourself sick, dude.”

As the three argued, Queen Bee looked inside the display case with skepticism pinching at her features. Rena Rouge was practically salivating as she tried to decide for herself, tempted to follow Chat’s example and just go nuts. The sight of a familiar yellow and black had her pause before giving a playful poke to Queen Bee’s shoulder.

“Hey look, they have hero-themed macarons!” Tom gave an eager smile to have his newest creation noticed and by one of the inspirations them no less! He pulled out the tray that he had been testing on, five vastly different macarons on it. And each one was decorated with love and care, little touches that showed the two just who it was based on. From chocolate sprinkles meant to look like spots and little swipes of frosting to emulate ears, tails, lines of a shell, or the stripes of a bee.

“It will take a while before we can have them ready to sell but after Heroes Day I’m sure everyone will be lined out the door to have a try with these. It was definitely a fun challenge figuring out flavors that can work! We have a classic cherry for Ladybug, lime and chocolate for Chat Noir, and mint for Carapace. I’m thinking of a coffee and orange zest flavor for our fox friend here and honey lemon for our resident queen bee! What do you both think?”

“They look amazing Mr. Dupain! What do you think Q… uh, you okay there Q.B.?”

Chloé belatedly realized her cheeks were suddenly wet and now Tom was looking at her with concern, which only made her frantically wipe at her face.

“Fine! Just fine.” She absolutely was not fine. But no need to tell anybody else that.

Neither Tom nor Rena Rouge seemed convinced but both silently agreed to leave it alone, for now at least. Instead, Tom offered the two heroes their respective macarons with a renewed grin.

“On the house! After all, we need to make sure the heroes approve before we start selling them,” he said with a wink. While Queen Bee savored tasting the macaron as if it were her last meal, Rena was more than happy to shove the whole pastry in her mouth. Both heroines practically had stars in their eyes at the taste and Tom knew he had a winner right here.

“These are amazing! Guys, you gotta try these macarons based on us!” As Rena tried to corral her teammates from Sabine, Queen Bee’s bliss went to contemplative as she looked at Tom.

“After all the shit I pulled, I’m surprised you’d be willing to make one based on me. Not like it’s a mystery who I am either. So… why?”

“If you’re willing to stand and fight with the people of Paris against Hawkmoth, well… that shows that you’re not beyond help,” Tom stated as if it were the most normal thing in the world despite Queen Bee feeling like her emotions had gotten punched in the gut by his words. She opened her mouth to say more but the sounds of panicked screams filling the streets quickly got her and everyone else’s attention.

“Looks like our break’s over guys, let’s go!” Ladybug was the first to dash out the doors with the four of them following her lead, weapons at the ready.

“Think Hawkmoth managed to find the butterfly miraculous before we could? Or maybe it’s another one of those monsters that showed up?” Rena continued to ramble as they bound across the rooftops, the sight of lasers being shot into the air by the Eiffel Tower telling them where they needed to go. Ladybug and Chat Noir looked at each other, able to communicate full sentences without even having to say a word.

_ ‘No matter what it is, it’ll be nothing good.’ _

And turns out, it was indeed nothing good as they finally caught sight of the source of all the chaos.

It was a giant golem whose body was a rainbow of crystals and was as huge as the average building in Paris. Its stomps caused the ground to shudder as its eyeless face seemed to survey its surroundings with an air of indifference. Civilians scattered to try and escape the golem, taking cover in nearby shops or wherever which could offer shelter.

“I mean, it’s pretty but doesn’t seem to be doing anything aside from walking,” Carapace sounded cautiously optimistic, thinking perhaps this wasn’t as bad as they had worried.

Then they all saw the golem take the sun’s rays into its body, twisting the energy before it fired it out of one of its fingers. It hit an unlucky civilian and in a flash, they were transformed into a statue of sapphire. Frozen in time with their expression only able to look upon in horror as the golem was the last thing they saw.

“I take it back, dear god do I take it back!”

The rest of the team shared his horror as their eyes took in the sight of the golem’s path of carnage. Statues of ruby, emerald, topaz, and many other gemstones decorated the streets like a macabre art piece, all frozen in fear as they had tried to run for their lives. Chills went down everyone’s spines at the sight of statues which were chipped, had pieces broken off, or worse, completely shattered to pieces. 

_ ‘I can fix all of this, I can fix all of this,’ _ Ladybug repeated in her mind on repeat, as if that made everything she was seeing any better to swallow. But a job needed to be done.

“Looks like a sentimonster. It works similar to an akuma, except the possessed object is gonna be on whoever’s controlling the golem. We find them, destroy it, purify the amok, and everyone will be returned to normal,” she explained as her eyes scanned for any possible lead.

“Think I found the person we’re looking for, my lady. But… they’re in a rather un-fur-tunate place.” Despite the pun, it was evident that Chat Noir sounded uncomfortable as he pointed to the golem’s chest. As her eyes focused, she could see the faint silhouette of someone inside with their body suspended in crystal.

“We’re gonna need to hit hard enough then to get in there. Avoid the lasers and try to get civilians to safety. And please… be careful guys,” Ladybug said, sounding more like she was begging than asking. She received nods in affirmative and everyone leaped to action, read to fight the golem with all they had.

* * *

Luka could only look at his phone with shock heavy in his heart as the footage continued to play on. Nooroo sat on his shoulder, still as stone. The previous calm mood of Luka playing a random tune on his guitar while the kwami listened on was long gone.

“I thought you said Hawkmoth couldn’t make anymore akumas without this brooch,” he asked, fingers now stroking the pendant which rested at the collar of his t-shirt. Not very inconspicuous but it wasn’t like he intended to wear the thing out in public. 

“I did indeed Luka. However, that is not an akuma but rather a sentimonster, a creation made by the one who wields the peacock miraculous. It works similarly to the butterfly, but instead of transforming individuals it instead creates creatures out of the emotions of others. Hawkmoth had the peacock miraculous in possession as well alongside me but had hesitated to use it considering it’s… condition,” Nooroo explained with a strained tone, silently wondering what Gabriel was thinking pulling something like this.

“What do you mean its- oh no.” Luka could feel his heart stop as he saw a flash of familiar purple-tipped hair among the crowd of people running for their lives from the golem’s beams. He remembered Juleka mentioned that she had been taking Rose on a date by the Eiffel Tower during breakfast, wanting to surprise her girlfriend for their 6 month anniversary. 

The fact that he didn’t see the small blonde with Juleka in the crowd only jumpstarted his heart in terror as anxiety pulsed through his veins.

“I-I have to do…” Do what? It wasn’t like he was a superhero, not like the miraculous heroes.

Nooroo stared at Luka, sensing just how much distress the boy was in. It was then the kwami made a decision, one that perhaps someone would call him a fool for making after everything he had been through. 

But he was always one to follow what his heart told him than wisdom or logic.

“We can do something Luka, we can protect her and everyone.”

“How?”

Nooroo simply tapped the brooch against his collar, a look of trust in his eyes.

“Wait, really? But what if I become just like Hawkmoth? I can’t let you go through that again Nooroo,” Luka protested and would have continued if he wasn’t silenced by Nooroo simply shaking his head.

“Luka Couffaine, I may have only known you for less than a day but I already know you will be nothing like Hawkmoth. You have the capacity for empathy that Hawkmoth lacked, you can be the one to turn ordinary people into heroes to assist Ladybug and Chat Noir. And the fact that you show fear of becoming like Hawkmoth shows that you are not likely to go down that same path.”

He could only stare at Nooroo in silence before taking a deep breath.

“What do I need to do?” He could hear Nooroo’s melody evolve into a symphony as a smile overtook the kwami’s face and butterflies began to manifest from little pops of light around them.

“The phrase to transform is ‘Wings rise,’ and to detransform, ‘Wings fall’. Take one of these butterflies and once it becomes an akuma, you must send it out to find a willing person that you can transform. It may take some convincing considering the… reputation that Hawkmoth left behind, but I know you can do it Luka.”

“Hm… maybe we shouldn’t call these little guys ‘akuma’. Not very fair to call them demons, don’t you think?” Luka said as he stared as one of the white butterflies landed on his hand.

“Oh? And what should we call them?”

“...Keys.”

Well, that was a new one to Nooroo.

“Keys?” 

“Yes. Because they’ll be the  _ keys _ to unlocking the potential and allow people to become the melodies we know they can be,” Luka said with an impish smile, proud of the pun and not afraid to show it. Nooroo swore he would have started crying right then and there if more pressing matters weren’t at hand.

He knew he had made the right choice showing himself to Luka.

“Alright, let’s do this. Nooroo, wings rise!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AW HELL YEAH, Y'ALL READY?


End file.
